Mitochondria can move into cancer cells

A research collaboration between Griffith University and New Zealand’s Malaghan Institute has discovered that mitochondria - organelles which are often referred to as the powerhouses of cells - are capable of passing through the healthy membrane of a host cell into defective tumour cells.

Biology informs us that all life forms are constructed of cells and that inside these cells are the basic information to build whatever life form is intended: namely DNA (the plan for the life form) and the energy needed to carry out the instructions, called mitochondria. There is also another element within the cell called mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is crucial for ensuring how the whole process of cell growth happens.

Until now, mitochondria and mtDNA were believed to be bound within the cell membrane. But the new research has found that mtDNA is capable of moving from a healthy cell to a dysfunctional tumour cell - though no-one yet knows exactly how - possibly kicking off the rapid proliferation of tumour cells which is the hallmark of cancer.

“What we’ve found is that it’s possible for genetic material to pass from one cell to another and for that material to bring a cell ‘back to life’,” said Professor Jiri Neuzil, who led the Griffith research. “This is a considerable finding in our understanding of human biology.

“This process has previously been observed by scientists in a laboratory setting, but together with the New Zealand group, we have been able to perform experiments that provide evidence for this process in a live animal.”

Defective mtDNA is known to account for around 200 diseases and is speculated to be part of many more. Professor Neuzil described cancer cells’ ability to ‘steal’ mtDNA from other cells as “fascinating” and speculated that this aspect of cancer’s adaptability “could happen in other diseases where mtDNA is defective, like neurodegenerative diseases”